Following the Kinross game on Friday August 3rd, the second half of the opening weekend doubleheader saw Cumbernauld RFC visit Academy Park for the first time, and Leith were looking to keep the winning start going. The game was an opportunity, primarily for new players at the club to integrate into the squad and get their first match action.

Leith started off slowly and could not control the breakdown allowing Cumbernauld to play on the front foot. After some good play from Cumbernauld they scored in the corner but were not successful with the conversion. 0-5.

The home side tried to get to get back in the game, and were exerting better control in the ruck. This allowed the backs to break out but Cumbernauld’s defence was strong, although eventually infringed, as they went of their feet and Leith were awarded a penalty. They decided to go for posts and debutante flyhalf Shaun Guessford was successful with the kick. 3-5.

Leith were trying to work through their new structures and patterns but were not able to gain sufficient foothold around the contact area, and Cumbernauld exploited this, resulting in another score with a successful conversion. 3-12.

Leith made some changes and this strengthened the pack up resulting in a greater share of possession, and after a few rucks, another debutante Matt Allison received the ball. After handing off a few players he managed to gain some momentum to crash over for his first try (in his first ever game of rugby) With the conversion missed, the half time score was 8-12.

Leith were still finding it hard to gain control of the game, and with the lineout misfiring, Cumbernauld dominated possession, resulting in them scoring their third try with a successful conversion. 8-19. Leith continued to work hard to give front-foot ball to their backs, and Dave Robertson, spotting space behind the Cumbernauld defence, put in a great kick for the winger to chase, but unfortunately the ball bounced into touch just before the winger got there. The game was into the last ten minutes when a controversial decision from the ref gave Cumbernauld their fourth try when it seemed their player was short of the try line but the ref deemed the ball to have crossed the whitewash.
The conversion was successful for 9-26. Leith tried to get back in to the game but their line outs let them down again allowing Cumbernauld to finish the game on a high scoring the final try of the game. Final score 8-31.

There were some good individual performances during the game, but work required in gelling the team together – understandable in a first game together, and with many playing their first rugby for a while (or ever) – however very encouraging that everyone kept going and did not give up. Some good stuff to build on.